light

I hope your
new year is
full of light
and color
and Reiki

Speedy, Sniffly, and Sneezy

True friends check on you politely, laugh at your jokes and make you laugh too, and give you space when you need it.

A friend stopped in to my office today. She was having trouble making videos and needed help. She's been out of work for a few days with back pain. She knew I'd be in my office on a Saturday.

So she asked why the sound is all messed up. Too fast. I showed her how to check the speed setting. She backed away when she heard my sneezes and sniffles. I hab a code. She pulled her coat up over her mouth and nose. Just eyes showing. Kept asking questions.

I asked about her back. She said her back hurt so she walked funny so now her knee hurts. I asked if she has access to a pool. She said No. I suggested yoga. She said she tried it twice and threw up both times.

Barfy, Limpy, Speedy, Sniffly, and Sneezy. 

F6

If you accidentally turn off the touchpad and your laptop becomes a Brick there is a way to fix it. I know because I spent an hour with Brick and my backup notebook researching websites and pressing buttons. Brick or PaperWeight, you pick. It was useless. I tried to navigate with the arrows but kept getting stuck. In the end it was simple: Fn and F6. All those little buttons along the top actually do something.

PS: If you accidentally turn off your camera while you're trying to turn on your touchpad its Fn F8. Different on every keyboard, of course. Look at the little icons.

Reiki Nurse

click Amazon

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the calm one

A student asked me a question while I was proctoring a test. She asked me a question the next day when I met her in the hall, so I introduced myself.

"Oh, I know who you are," she said. "You're the calm one."

hot and cold

I was cold and hungry towards the end of the day. I'd gotten up at 5, was at work by 6, left early for an appointment and errands, and had a meeting at 7 pm, with an hour-long drive home afterwards. I stopped at a restaurant and waited a long time to be seated, though there were just two couples in a big empty room. I turned to leave, "Miss! A table?"

So I sat down. I waited again. I was chilled. The room was big and cold. I waited and thought about leaving again. There was another restaurant across the street.

A large man shuffled over. He was dressed all in black: T-shirt stained with food, pants with suspenders, and black socks and crocs.

"Water?" he asked.
"Yes, please. May I have hot water?"
"We don't have hot water."
"Do you have hot tea?"
"Yes."
"May I have hot tea without the tea?"
"I can't do that. It's not like we have big pots of hot water back there."
"Hmmm."
"I can bring you water without ice."

He brought me a tall glass of ice-cold water that I didn't drink. I thought about kitchens, pots, and the techniques required to heat water. I thought about birch bark containers sealed with sap, hot rocks, iron pots, hot springs, and acetylene torches.

Then I read my book. Dinner came and it was gross. Next time I'll listen to the absent diners.

Merry Christmas!

It's time to walk through pine forests, watch it snow, admire colored lights in trees, hug your friends, buy books, listen to carols, wrap carefully selected gifts, and sleep through long cold nights. Merry Christmas!

test questions for 2019

This week, preparing a January course, I viewed 5000 test items: stems and responses. I adjusted the points so that all 56 quizzes added up to 100 points.

When possible, I made everything gender-neutral. I tried to remove all culture and gender bias. I updated the language to reflect current philosophy, example: "the nurse collaborated with the physician", instead of "reported to". The girls are no longer shy. The 16-year old male drug addict is now a teen who used a recreational substance. Patients are people. Nurses don't "check", "notice", or "mention"; they "assess" and "instruct". Yes, 5000. Took me over 30 hours, which I did in about 4 days.

Now on to the next exciting task for Spring 2019: updating quizzes in a different class.

And some fun: instructional videos.

blue sky, blue water, white snow

a warm winter day
light-tipped waves on the lake, orbs
of light in the sky